University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
2003 Southern Miss Football - "A Championship Season"
1/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Southern Miss Football - "A Championship Season"
Hattiesburg, Miss. - While a Liberty Bowl loss wasn't the result that the Southern Miss football team wanted to cap off the year, one would be hard-pressed to argue that the 2003 season still wasn't a successful year.
The 2003 season proved to be one of the better years under Head Coach Jeff Bower and ranks among the top season stories in school history. For this season, the Golden Eagles returned to the prominence that it had enjoyed in previous seasons, especially in the late 1990s. Southern Miss became the first Conference USA program to win at least a share of the league title four different times and was the first team to win it outright in three separate seasons. The team also sported the Conference USA Coach of the Year in Bower -- the only coach in league history to win it three times -- and had the Defensive Player of the Year in Rod Davis -- giving Southern Miss a league-record fourth player to be named to that honor five different times. In addition, a league-best 15 Golden Eagles were named to the respective all-conference teams, while five others were selected to various All-America or Freshman All-America teams. Bower continued to stake his claim as the dean of Conference Bower's coaching efforts in 2003 possibly could be one of the finest of his career. After the Golden Eagles started with a disappointing 3-3 record through the first six games, the team rallied for six-straight wins en route to the league championship. Included in that stretch was a 40-28 victory over previously unbeaten and ninth-ranked TCU on Nov. 20, one of the biggest wins in recent history. The 9-4 overall record came on a strength of schedule that ranks in the top-third among the nation's 117 teams, and, according to the NCAA, was rated the toughest schedule in Conference USA. Defensively the team continued its dominance, finishing in the Top 25 in four statistical categories. Southern Miss, led by seven senior starters, ranked No. 5 in pass defense, while also faring well in pass efficiency defense (13th), scoring defense (14th) and total defense (23). The special teams also got into the national rankings, ranking 16th in punt returns and 35th in kickoff returns. Southern Miss also was ranked No. 34 in turnover margin. While the Golden Eagles did well collectively, the individual honors still were plentiful. Leading the group is arguably the most-decorated defensive player ever in the school?s history in With his performance in the Liberty Bowl, Along with In addition, the Golden Eagles had three other players named All-Americans. Kick returner John Eubanks, who finished the season as the nation's No. 4 kick returner, was named an Honorable-Mention All-American by Collegefootballnews.com. Punt returner Marvin Young finished 10th in the nation at his position and also was selected as an Honorable-Mention All-American by Collegefootballnews.com. True freshman placekicker Darren McCaleb was selected as a Third-Team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News, a true freshman All-American by Max Emfinger?s Recruiting Service, as well as Honorable Mention Freshman All-American by Collegefootballnews.com. While not being named an All-American, punter Luke Johnson did pick up a postseason award as he was selected as Southern Miss? Offensive Player of the Game in the AXA Liberty Bowl and its Scholar-Athlete, and was also named to the Collegefootballnews.com's All-Bowl team as an honorable-mention punter. Johnson finished the season 40th in the nation in average yards per punt. The 2003 Liberty Bowl loss was not without its successes. The game proved to be the highest-rated college football telecast that Southern Miss participated in this season, with a rating of 2.44 and a viewership of 2.15 million. The game had a higher viewership than any Golden Eagle game this season, including the The success of this season is one that the Golden Eagles hope to build on in the coming years. The team already has a good start towards 2004, with a bevy of returning lettermen and starters. In all, 52 letterwinners are set to return for next season, while losing 14. The offense returns nine starters from its lineup, including quarterback Dustin Almond, running back Anthony Harris, offensive lineman Jeremy Parquet and Chris White and wide receivers Antwon Courington, DaRon Lawrence and Young. Four starters return for the defensive unit led by Boley and fellow linebacker Antoine Cash, and all-conference defensive tackle Eric Scott, while all four specialists return. While the end to the 2003 season wasn't a wanted one, this year's squad did help put the Golden Eagles back at the top among the conference programs. And all indications are that in 2004, Southern Miss hopes to keep it that way.
